Wednesday's train cancellations caused by overhead rail line problems in Bolton

Castleton train station

Many trains were cancelled in the Rochdale borough on Wednesday (6 March) due to a problem with overhead lines in Bolton.

Local rail campaign group, STORM (Support the Oldham Rochdale Manchester rail line) said 14 trains on the day were cancelled, with two further cancellations affecting Rochdale, Smithy Bridge and Littleborough.

Chairman Richard Greenwood said: “Castleton, Mills Hill and Moston were left with only one train in each direction in a period of nearly five hours. Almost every train booked to provide the service at these stations runs via Bolton to/from Blackburn/Clitheroe. 

“This degree of unreliability when all the trains serving these stations come from the same starting point underlines the need for more trains per hour at Mills Hill and Castleton with the additional trains being from a different starting and finishing point.”

One regular rail passenger, Frank Salt, and his guide dog, Lewis, walked to Castleton Station, having checked before leaving home that their train was on time. As it was cancelled, Mr Salt then had to get a taxi in the opposite direction to Rochdale Station to board a train to Manchester which went through Castleton without stopping. 

Mr Salt added: “Why can Northern not stop one of the four trains an hour which pass through to provide a relief service?”

A spokesman for Northern said: “Our services in Greater Manchester were severely affected by problems with the overhead lines at Bolton on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, the issues meant many services were cancelled, some at short notice, whilst others were delayed or had calling patterns altered.

“We returned to normal working as soon as possible, but fully understand the frustration of those customers whose journeys were affected.

“Anyone whose journey was delayed by 15 minutes or more can claim compensation, via Delay Repay, by visiting our website.”

A spokesman from Network Rail said: “Trains through Rochdale were disrupted on Wednesday 6 March due to a fault with the overhead line equipment at Moses Gate station near Bolton. Engineers were despatched to investigate the issue and ensure the line was safe for trains to run.

“Following an inspection of the overhead equipment, the railway was fully reopened to train services just before 10am that morning. We would like to apologise to passengers affected by this.”